Frederik Van Lierde

The video

The Interview

Q: How old were you when you started doing sports?
A: I started to swim competitively when I was nine, and got my first bike at the age of 17. My dad was a marathon runner so he got me interested in running from early on.

Q: When you were young, did you have any idols in sports or otherwise?
A: Luc van Lierde (who’s now my coach) was my idol when growing up.

Q: What was your first contact to triathlon?
A: I took part in a junior triathlon race in 1997 when I was 17, and that led to taking part in sprint triathlons.

Q: How many hours do you usually train per week?
A: A hard week consists of 30-35 hours of training: 600-700 km on a bike, 30 km swimming and 100 km running.

Q: What does your typical day look like?
A: There’s no typical day for a triathlete – every day is different!

Q: How do you know if your training is taking you in the right direction and you’re improving?
A: If the numbers are good, if I’m feeling good and that I’m getting better and stronger, then I know.

Q: What’s the most challenging aspect about your sport?
A: It’s no longer the distance – that I can handle. Now the challenge is more about how to win and how to get faster and faster.

Q: How do you handle a weak moment?
A: I think about the support network I have and how lucky I am that I can fulfill my passion every day.

Q: How do you relax?
A: By spending time with my family, playing with my sons and watching them play soccer.

Q: Who is the hero in your life and why?
A: My wife Sofia. She has supported me through financial problems and setbacks in training, and helped me become a champion.

Q: Your greatest accomplishment as an athlete – so far?
A: Winning the Ironman Hawaii World Championship in 2013.

Q: What ‘s your next dream as an athlete?
A: To win Ironman Hawaii for the 2nd time! And complete the race in under 8 hours (currently my personal best is 8:01).

Kaisa Mäkäräinen

The video

The Interview

Q: Could you tell us a bit about yourself and your training?
A: I’m 31, which is pretty old already for an athlete. I’m conscientious about my training and even stress about it at times. I’m a perfectionist who ponders and analyzes things. I constantly aim to improve my performance – there’re always more ways to improve in biathlon. I’m very precise and don’t want to do anything in vain or half-heartedly. I don’t want to look back and think, say, that I didn’t train well enough last summer. It’s all the way or go home.

Q: How much do you train on a yearly basis?
A: I spend over a thousand hours a year practicing shooting. In mid-May, getting ready for a competition, I fired 15,000 shots. I practice 4-6 times a week and fire about 100 shots in each training session. I do physical training for 700 hours a year.

Q: What kind of a role do Polar heart rate monitors play in your training?
A: My training’s evolved as we’ve started measuring it. During training I follow my heart rate so that I know how hard my body’s actually working. I train basic endurance, speed endurance as well as maximum endurance, and heart rate zones help me to stay on track. There are swings in heart rate every day, but by monitoring it I’ve learned to understand my body; know when I’m tired or coming down with something. I also measure speed and distance. Even a top athlete enjoys reliving the routes afterwards in Polar Flow. Polar products have fun features like the Training Benefit. I also follow my heart rate when racing, especially when I’m about to approach the shooting station. If my heart rate is too low when I start shooting, it can affect my performance.

Q: How can you tell if you’re overtraining?
A: Usually you don’t notice the signals of overtraining until afterwards, for instance if you get ill. In especially hard training I spot it. For instance last fall it wasn’t going so well. My coach said everything seemed great, but I myself felt it. When I’m overtraining, my heart rate just won’t get up. My aerobic threshold is 160 bpm, and if I have to ski at full stretch to reach it, then I’m overtraining. My body is so used to hard training that it’s not easy to spot overtraining. Getting back on track after overtraining can take just a couple of days for me. But the effects can be seen later, after some months, and analyzed even later than that.

Q: What are your strengths as an athlete?
A: Knowing my body and being responsible.

Q: What’s the most challenging aspect about biathlon?
A: The sport in itself is so challenging! You can always shoot faster, have better skiing technique and ski faster. I’m used to training a lot, and I know what it takes to reach the top. You have to find the kind of training that works for you. For me, long and calm jogs do the trick.

Q: What keeps you going? Do you have days when you have to look for motivation?
A: Yes I do have those days, especially if the weather’s bad. I might think of a way to replace the training with another activity, but I never skip it altogether. I always look at the bigger picture. Little things count, so I don’t like to make exceptions just because I don’t feel like it.

Q: How do you handle a weak moment?
A: By analyzing it. I seldom can just forget about it, but try to find out what’s causing it, and break it down.

Q: Have you had bad injuries and how have you gotten past them?
A: I had knee surgery in 2009 due to repetitive strain injury. I went through 5 weeks of rehabilitation, walking with crutches, and I couldn’t run or roller ski for 3 months. The decision to go through the surgery had to be made quickly: I only had 12 hours to decide. I took a chance and it paid off. Since then it’s been easier, and it was the only way for me to continue my professional career.

Q: What does it take to reach the top of the world?
A: You have to believe in what you do, be a realist and recognize what kind of an effect various things have on your training. Everything you do has an effect and your whole life is in the game, but there’s also a big crew that surrounds and supports the individual.

Q: How do you relax?
A: I don’t have so-called normal days off – an athlete is always an athlete. I give my body time to recover and try to strain myself as little as possible. I sleep, read, knit and crochet, garden and spend time with my neighbors.

Q: What would your perfect day off be like?
A: My everyday life is so scheduled that in my spare time I don’t like to look at the clock. I’d want to stay out of the city and just do things around the summer cottage or in some other cozy environment.

John Degenkolb

Learn more about John and how he became a cyclist

The Interview

Q: What made you become a cyclist?
A: I started out my cycling career as a boy, watching my father go out on his bike and at races. As soon as I tried riding myself I absolutely loved it. My father inspired me and we share a passion for watching cycling on TV and for the difficulty and beauty of the sport.

Q: What is your training philosophy?
A: When I have a goal, I will be fully focused and 100 percent dedicated to achieving it. Cycling taught me to work hard to reach personal goals. 90% of this hard work happens in training.

Q: What is the significance of a team for a cyclist?
A: Being a pro cyclist exceeds working hard in training. It is also about being a team player and working with others towards a common goal. I joined the team in 2012 and I benefitted from the optimal guidance provided by the staff and experts, helping me develop not just as a rider but also as a person.

Q: How much training do you do in a year?
A: When the season is underway I work from race to race, and train in between. Altogether I do roughly 12,500 kilometers, or 550 hours of training in a season, including off-bike training in gym.

Q: How is the training split?
A: Most of the training happens in the winter period when I am preparing for the season. When the spring season is over I take a short rest break before building towards the second part of the season. During the longer breaks between the races the training blocks are more extensive and specifically focused on the type of races that are ahead.

Q: How do you prepare for a specific race?
A: For the Tour de France, for example, we went on an altitude training camp with the team in Sierra Nevada, Spain. During the period of three weeks we did a lot of long training rides and climbing at altitude to prepare optimally.

Q: What achievements are you most proud of?
A: Winning the Paris-Roubaix was my main goal, and I achieved it in 2015, when I also won Milan-San Remo. I am generally proud to be able to show young riders that you can achieve great results clean as long as you are dedicated and give everything you have.

Q: How do Polar devices help you during training?
A: I turned pro when I was 21 years old, so over the years I have learned a lot about how my body reacts to training. My Polar heart rate watch helps me confirm the way I feel, both when I’m training and when I’m racing.

Q: What about after training?
A: We analyze the data gathered by my Polar watch together with the team’s trainers and experts. It provides valuable input about whether the training is going in the right direction and helps with formulating future training plans.

Training benefit

Running index

Running Program

Train for a running event with a personal and adaptive training plan in Polar Flow. Choose from four different targets, 5K, 10K, half marathon and marathon, and get a training plan that fits you and your goals.
More ›

Smart calories

Orthostatic test

Orthostatic Test is an easy and reliable test to determine your current condition. It shows how your heart rate responds to training and factors such as stress and illness. By repeating the test regularly, you’ll learn what to expect with your heart rate and what can affect it. You can then adjust your training to allow your body to recover when it needs it.
More ›

Track your activity

Sensor compatibility

The V800 is compatible with Polar Bluetooth® Smart running and cycling sensors, which provide even more detail about your training.

Polar Flow

The exclusive Polar Flow service records detailed information about each training session, allowing you to monitor progress and plan further training quickly and effectively.

Strava Live Segments

Strava Live Segments make your runs and rides more exciting. Your Polar V800 alerts you when you approach one of your starred Strava segments, gives you real-time data on your performance and shows your results after you finish the segment.

Speed and distance also indoors

Measure your speed and distance while running or walking indoors – all from the movement of your wrist.

Strava Live Segments

Make your journey more exciting with Strava Live Segments. Get alerts about nearby segments, see real-time performance data during a segment and get your results right after you finish. Polar V800 comes with a free 60-day Strava Premium Membership.

Individual training targets

Preparation is the key to success. Create detailed goals for different types of training and sync them to your V800 to get real-time guidance during workouts. Use the Orthostatic Test and Recovery Status to make sure that your body is ready for the next challenge.

Orthostatic test

Orthostatic Test is an easy and reliable test to determine your current condition. It shows how your heart rate responds to training and factors such as stress and illness. By repeating the test regularly, you’ll learn what to expect with your heart rate and what can affect it. You can then adjust your training to allow your body to recover when it needs it.

Recovery status

Find the perfect balance between training and rest and get a true picture of your recovery status before getting out there again. Recovery status is based on the cumulative load of all your activities including your training sessions and data on the small activities you do every day. Continuous monitoring of recovery status helps you plan your training so that you avoid over- and undertraining.

Train

Create different sports profiles to see and record relevant data for each sport, from running to open water swimming. Get real-time guidance based on your goals. Track everything from altitude to heart rate.

Sport profiles

Create sport profiles and tailored views for each sport you do. Switch from one sport to another swiftly, without interrupting the training data recording. You can also check the transition times between sports.

Improve every day

Polar Flow records each training session and lets you view the data quickly in the mobile app or in more detail online. The Training Load feature shows how hard you have worked and how long you need to recover.

Analyze

Get a quick overview of your training in the Polar Flow mobile app. Analyze every detail of your performance at the Polar Flow web service.

New personal bests

Make sure that your training is taking you in the right direction. Go to Polar Flow to see your Running Index, Fitness Test results and a wealth of other detailed information.

Smart Notifications

Stay in the know

The most advanced training companion comes with smart notifications. Designed for 24/7 use and demanding sports conditions, the V800 makes sure you stay in the know wherever you are.

Don't miss a thing

See incoming calls and texts at a glance. Answer calls using your watch or decline them when training demands it.

Keep up to date

Check message notifications conveniently on the V800's display when your phone is not at hand.

Be where you need to be

V800 will alert you about the appointments on your calendar and makes sure you're always on time.

Stay social

Get the latest social media updates on your wrist to make sure you're in the loop.

Products

Find your perfect match

Full Features

Activity

24/7 Activity Tracking

Tracks your daily activity at five intensity levels for 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and provides a complete picture of all of your activity. It counts your active time, daily burnt calories, steps, distance from steps and sleep.

It’s based on the analyses of the frequency, intensity and regularity of your movements together with your physical information.

Intensity levels are:

Resting (sleep and rest, lying down)

Sitting (sitting or other passive behavior)

Low (standing work, light household chores)

Medium (walking and other moderate activities)

High (jogging, running and other intense activities)

You can also see how different activity intensities accumulate daily activity: the higher the intensity, the faster you’ll reach your activity goal. Find more examples for low, medium and high intensity activities in Polar Flow app and web service.

Activity Goal

We need physical activity to stay healthy. The Activity Goal helps and motivates you to stay active all day long. Your device tells you your daily Activity Goal and guides you on how to reach it. It’s based on your personal details chosen level of activity and general health recommendations. The activity bar on your device fills up during the day based on the duration and intensity of your activity.

You can stay active at a moderate pace throughout the day or meet your goal faster with more intense activities. Your device helps you to reach your daily activity goal by giving practical guidance like ´walk for 50 minutes or jog for 20 minutes´. You can find more tips on how to reach your Activity Goal in the Polar Flow app and web service.

The foundation of Polar Activity Goal is in evidence-based physical activity guidelines which establish the minimal amount of physical activity needed to achieve important health benefits. The health benefits include healthy body weight, healthy bones, muscles and joints, psychological well-being, and reduced risk of certain diseases.

Active Time

Includes the cumulative time you spend on your feet and on the move. In other words, low, medium and high intensity activities are considered Active Time. To get more active time, avoid sitting or break it up regularly with short walks.

Research has shown that both the reduced time spent inactive and breaks in inactivity have health associations. Replacing two hours of sitting per day by low intensity activity consumes calories equivalent to brisk walking for 30 minutes.

You can see the time spent on different intensity levels in the Polar Flow app and web service.

Steps and Distance

Your device counts your steps and the distance you walk during the day. Your steps are estimated based on the frequency, intensity and regularity of your wrist movements.

Activity Summary

Stores all your daily physical activity. You can easily follow your daily and long-term physical activity in Polar Flow app and web service. The total active time is the cumulative time of body movements that are good for your body and health.

You will find detailed information in the Polar Flow app and web service, like time spent at different activity intensity levels, average of daily goal completion, calories burned and steps taken, amount of inactivity alerts and sleep time and quality.

Activity Benefit

Tracks all your active choices during the day and shows how they help you stay healthy. Strong scientific evidence exists on the numerous benefits of physical activity. Activity benefits include, e.g. heart health, muscle and bone health, stress reduction and sleep quality.

The Activity Benefit rewards you by giving you daily, weekly and monthly feedback, because the more regularly you move, the greater the health benefits. You can check up on how you're doing either from the Polar Flow app or web service.

Inactivity Alert

Reminds you to get up and avoid sitting and standing still for too long – even on those days when you gain enough daily activity. Being inactive has a negative impact on your blood circulation, metabolism and energy expenditure.

After 55 minutes of being inactive your device gives you an Inactivity Alert which reminds you to add active breaks to your daily routines. If you continue being inactive for more than one hour, you will see an inactivity stamp in your daily activity data.

You won’t get any Inactivity alerts during night time.

Sleep Duration and Quality

Your training computer automatically tracks the duration of your sleep and shows in the Polar Flow app and web service how restful your sleep has been.

Most adults do very well with eight hours of sleep, but sleep needs may vary from about six to nine hours. Your sleep needs are affected by several factors like individual characteristics, training load, mental stress, body’s condition and possible sleep debt.

By following your sleeping patterns you can see if they’re affected by any changes in your daily life and find the right balance of rest, daily activity and training.

An assessment of sleep quality relies on your wrist movements. The periods when you sleep peacefully and don’t move a lot are calculated as restful sleep. The periods when you move and change your position are calculated as restless sleep.

Training

Running Program

Train for a running event with a personalized and adaptive running plan in Polar Flow. Choose one of four events, 5K, 10K, half marathon and marathon, and get a comprehensive training plan that fits you and your goals.

Depending on your choices and activity levels, you will receive a personal running program that can range from 9 to 15 weeks in length. Running Program also offers a base-building phase that can work for months before the start of the actual running plan.

Running Program gives you easy-to-follow instructions, motivational guidance and supportive exercises with video instructions that take the guesswork out of training.

During individual training sessions, compatible Polar products guide you in real-time. You can see your target heart rate zone and target duration and adjust your training for optimal results.

Speed and distance from the wrist

Measure your speed and distance from the movement of your wrist. Use running related sport profiles or walking and let the accelerometer track your distance and speed - indoors and out.

For accurate readings, remember to specify your handedness and other physical settings.

Running cadence from the wrist

Running cadence is the number of steps you take per minute, divided by two. Running cadence from the wrist is measured by the accelerometer in the wrist unit so there is no need for any extra equipment, such as footpods.

Route import

With Route import you can import new routes to Polar Flow web service from other services that support GPX or TCX files. Just export the files from the service and import them to Polar Flow. From Polar Flow you can sync the routes to compatible Polar devices.

Heart rate

Heart rate (HR) is an excellent measure of exercise and your training intensity. In the human body heart rate is regulated to match the demands of the body and the environment. When exercise intensity increases, heart rate also increases to match the increased rate of energy expenditure and oxygen uptake.

Heart rate can be expressed as the absolute number of beats per minute (bpm) or as a percentage of your maximum heart rate (% HRmax) or heart rate reserve (% HRR). Absolute heart rate during training is not very informative on its own, but when it’s expressed and interpreted in relation to HRmax or HRR it determines individual exercise intensity.

Your heart rate value in beats per minute (e.g. 125 bpm) is individual and cannot be compared to another person's value. A percentage of your maximum heart rate value on the other hand is comparable. For instance your friend may have a higher heart rate value in bpm, but the percentage of your individual HRmax can be the same. This means that you have the same relative training intensity.

HRmax

Maximum heart rate (HRmax) is the highest number of heart beats per minute (bpm) during physical exertion. HRmax is individual and may somewhat decrease as you age. It sets the individual reference value for your training intensity and is used in the calculation of the default heart rate zones and many Polar Smart Coaching features.

An age-based HRmax is a rough estimate of your maximum heart rate, and it is used as default in most Polar training computers. The most reliable and safest way to determine your HRmax is to have it measured in a maximal laboratory test.

Heart Rate zones

Provide an easy way to adjust and monitor the intensity of your training. By using hear rate zones you can also follow heart rate-based training programs. The default zones are based on your HRmax.

The default heart rate zones are divided into five intensity zones based on the percentage of your maximum heart rate:

Very light (50–60% HRmax)

Light (60–70% HRmax)

Moderate (70–80% HRmax)

Hard (80–90% HRmax)

Maximum (90–100% HRmax)

You can define the zone limits yourself as you want. More detailed information about this can be found in the Polar Flow web service.

Speed/Pace zones

Provide an easy way to choose and monitor the intensity of your training based on speed or pace. Speed/pace zones help you vary your training by using different intensities for optimal effects. Speed/pace will be affected for instance by uphill, which usually reduce your pace but increase your heart rate and exercise intensity.

Speed/Pace zones work just like heart rate zones even if speed/pace reacts to change instantly whereas heart rate takes a few moments to reach the new intensity level. There are five zones, and you can use the default ones, but we recommend you to define your own. You can also create training targets based on the zones, and receive guidance on your training computer during training.

More detailed information about this can be found in the Polar Flow web service.

Power zones

Help you to monitor your training intensity in cycling and running, and to achieve optimal effects out of your training. Power zones are based on power which is a direct measure of absolute exercise intensity.

Power output is an absolute value of the external work rate, whereas heart rate is the measure of physiological effort needed to produce the power output. Seeing how your heart rate corresponds to the power zones and how it changes over time gives more insight into how your performance is developing.

Power zone limits are calculated to you automatically, but you can change them if necessary. They are in Flow web service under cycling and running sport profiles.

ZoneLock

Keeps you training at certain intensity. With ZoneLock you can target and lock a specific training zone during your training session. When you are out of the preset heart rate/speed/pace or power zones, the training computer will give a visual and audio alarm.

ZonePointer

A moving symbol in zone display in your training computer showing whether you are inside the pre-set or desired target zone. This feature helps you to reach the desired intensity/pace/speed targets.

Strava Live Segments

Make your runs and rides more exciting with Strava Live Segments. Get alerts about nearby segments, see real-time performance data during a segment and check your results right after you finish. Available for Strava Premium members.

Orthostatic Test

An easy and reliable test to analyze how you recover from intensive, frequent training and optimize your training and prevent overtraining. Orthostatic Test is meant for long-term follow up, based on regular tests.

Heart rate and heart rate variability are good indicators of disturbances, such as fatigue or overtraining, in the autonomic nervous system. When taking the test, heart rate and heart rate variability are measured during supine rest, active standing up and standing.

In addition to training-induced fatigue, the orthostatic test results are affected by several other factors, such as mental stress, sleep, latent illness, environmental changes (temperature, altitude), and others.

Note that you cannot compare your results of orthostatic test to your friends’ results: they are individual and apply only to you.

Polar Fitness Test

Estimates your aerobic fitness at rest without any exertion in just five minutes. The result, Polar OwnIndex, evaluates your maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) and tells on what aerobic fitness level you are compared with people of the same age and gender.

The test is based on resting heart rate, heart rate variability, gender, age, height, body weight and your self-assessment of the level of long-term physical activity. You can compare your value to the population norms, the average values of people of the same age and gender.

Polar Fitness Test can motivate you to start, maintain or increase physical exercise.

To be able to follow the progress, the test should always be carried out under the same conditions, meaning at the same time of day, in a peaceful environment, and following a light training day or a day of rest.

Running Index

Your Running Index score is calculated automatically after every run. It is based on a combination of maximum heart rate and resting heart rate as well as your heart rate and speed during each training session.

You will get an estimate of your running performance (maximal aerobic running performance as a theoretical VO2max value in ml/min/kg). A higher reading indicates that you have better cardiorespiratory/aerobic fitness.

The Running Index gives you information about your performance level, which is a sum of both aerobic fitness and running economy. Improvement means that running at a given pace requires less effort, or that your pace is faster at a given level of exertion.

In the Polar Flow web service, you can see your long-term average and your estimated finishing times for 5K, 10K, half marathon and marathon runs.

Jump Test

Helps to assess leg muscular strength and power output and how tired your muscles are. There are three kinds of jump tests to choose from: squat, countermovement and continuous. This requires Stride sensor Bluetooth Smart.

The squat and countermovement tests measure your explosive strength, but in the countermovement jump test your muscles and tendons also do a pre-stretch that lets you use elastic energy, usually allowing you to jump higher.

The continuous jump test measures your anaerobic power. It is especially useful if you do sports that require anaerobic power, in other words maximal effort for short periods.

Smart Calories

Calculates the number of calories burned based on your individual data: your weight, height, age, gender, HRmax, HRrest, VO2max, and the intensity of your training/activity.

Heart rate-based calorie calculation is used when heart rate is measured, and it measures burned calories the most accurately also in conditions like cycling or lifting weights. Activity-based calorie calculation is used in training computers and activity trackers, when heart rate is not available.

You can see the cumulative energy expenditure (in kilocalories, kcal) during exercise and total kilocalories of the session after exercise. You can also follow your total daily calories.

Training Benefit

Helps you to understand how each training session benefits your fitness. It also gives you motivating feedback immediately after exercise. With the Training Benefit feature, you can make your training more varied by altering your training intensity and duration.

The Training Benefit feedback is based on exercise intensity and duration. It reads into how much time you spend and how many calories you burn in each intensity zone. You get a quick overview after each session and for more detailed feedback, you can either check your training file from your training computer or later in the Polar Flow app or web service.

Training Load

Training Load shows you how strenuous you training session was and helps you compare the load of different workouts. For example, you can compare the load of a long low intensity cycling session to that of a short high intensity running session.

Training Load is based on the intensity and duration of a training session. The intensity of a session is measured mainly by using your heart rate. The calculation is further affected by your personal information, such as age, sex, weight, VO2max and training history.

Your aerobic and anaerobic threshold values are used in the calculation. In addition, the sport you are doing is taken into account via a sport specific factor, which improves the calculation accuracy.

Available in Polar Flow.

Recovery Status

Recovery Status helps you to find balance between training and rest and estimates how much training load you can tolerate. It keeps track of your cumulative load – that is, the intensity, volume and frequency of your training as well as your daily activity measured by a Polar wrist unit. Recovery Status takes your training background into account and estimates your current and future level of physical strain.

Too much training in relation to time for recovery may lead to fatigue and decrease in performance. On the other hand, with too little training within a time frame, you may not take advantage of your whole capacity. By keeping an eye on your recovery status you can plan your training so that you avoid over- and undertraining.

The four Recovery Status levels are:

Undertrained

Balanced

Strained

Very strained

You can see your Recovery Status in the Polar Flow web service.

Back to Start

Directs you to your starting point in the shortest distance possible (straight line distance), as well as shows the distance to your starting point.

Distance

Distance (km, mi) can be set and measured in several ways. Training distance tells you the distance traveled during a training session. Lap distance tells you the distance of one lap.

Altitude, ascent/descent

Allows you to identify your current altitude and to determine altitude-related conditions. Your current altitude is shown as meters/feet and ascended and descended meters/feet. Altitude is measured either with GPS or an atmospheric air pressure sensor.

Sport profiles

Allows you to choose the sport relevant for your training from over a hundred Polar sports with sport-specific reports. You can get the most valuable information for you from your chosen sport.

All sport profiles are based on certain logic and the most common (endurance) sports are enhanced with Polar-specific multipliers affecting calorie and training load calculation.

You can choose and adjust your own favorite sports and define specific settings for each one in Polar Flow. In more advanced training computers you can get tailored views during your training and choose what data you want to follow during training, for instance heart rate or just speed and distance.

User-adjustable training displays

Multisport training

Allows you to do multiple sports in one training session and seamlessly switch between sports without interrupting the recording of your training.

During a multisport training session your transition times between sports are automatically monitored, allowing you to see how long it took you to switch from one sport to another.

GPS

Built-in GPS provides accurate speed and distance measurement for a range of outdoor sports, and allows you to see your route on the map in the Polar Flow app and web service after your session.

GPS Power save mode

Allows you to save the battery life of your training computer during long training sessions by adjusting the GPS interval from 1 second to 30 or 60 seconds. A longer interval gives you more recording time, while a shorter interval allows you to record more detailed data.

Race pace

Race pace allows you to set a target speed/pace for a certain distance. It then helps pacing the run or ride by showing the current speed/pace and by telling how much you are behind or ahead of the set target.

For example during a half marathon you could see what your finish time would be if you continued with the same pace.

Route guidance

Discover new routes from other users on Polar Flow. Add their recorded routes to your favorites and let Route Guidance guide you on the map while you ride.

Speed/Pace

See your speed/pace on your device during your workout and in Flow afterwards. You can also set a target based on your speed/pace training zones. You can view your current, average and maximum speed/pace.

Training targets

You can create training targets in Polar Flow and save them to your training diary or as favorites for later use. Sync your targets to your training device. You can set phased targets with heart rate or speed/pace guidance to create an interval workout or add simple training targets, such as ‘burn 700 kcal cycling’ or ‘run 30 minutes’.

Your device will guide you throughout your training. You will get an alert on your device when you need to slow down or speed up to make sure your training goes as targeted.

After the training session you can analyze your result and compare it with your target in Polar Flow.

R-R Recording test

Saves your heartbeat intervals, that is, intervals between successive heartbeats. This information is also shown as instantaneous heart rate in beats per minute in recorded samples.

In Polar Flow web service you can analyze your heart rate variability with an accuracy of 1 ms, get a visualized recording, and export raw, unfiltered RR interval data for use in third party Heart Rate Variability analysis tools for a more in-depth study.

Training history

Stores your recent training files. Memory capacity and number of stored training files varies according to training computer and what and how much data is included in files (e.g. heart rate, GPS). Certain languages also affect the memory capacity.

Training diary

Allows you to easily follow up on your past training and activity as well as your planned training sessions four weeks ahead and back in time. Information shown includes: training plans, individual training results, tests.

In Polar Flow web service you can follow your diary in a daily, weekly or monthly view.

Interval Timers

Allows you to do interval training and helps you to know when it’s time to switch from a harder to a lighter period and vice versa. You can set two timers for any interval workout, based on distance or time, and repeat then as many time as you want.

HeartTouch

Allows you to activate light, see time of day or change training views without pressing any buttons. During your training session simply bring your training computer close to your heart rate sensor, for instance if you are using gloves. Set one preferred action/information in the Polar Flow web service.

Laps, manual

Allows you to take laps on the go whenever you want.

Laps, automatic

Set your automatic laps in the Polar Flow web service based on a certain time frequency or distance.

Swimming Metrics

Easily track your swimming performance with automatic detection of your swimming style, distance, pace, strokes and rest times. Swimming metrics help you to analyze each swimming session and follow your performance and progress in the long run. In addition, with the help of the SWOLF score you can improve your swimming technique.

All swimming metrics can be measured in pool swimming and swimming. Open water swimming supports distance and strokes.

Tap gestures

Depending on your product, tapping the display during training takes a lap, changes the training view, or turns on backlight.

Details on tap gestures are in each product’s user manual.

Training reminder

Allows you to set reminders to alarm you about different tasks (e.g. drink break) during training session, based on a certain time or distance. You can set these reminders in the Polar Flow web service and create your own notification text.

Autostop/start

When Autostop/start is on, your training computer automatically starts and stops the recording as you start or stop moving during training.

Stopwatch

Countdown Timer

Barometer

Cadence sensor Bluetooth® Smart features

Cadence

Measures your real time and average cadence of your entire cycling session by wireless cadence sensor with Bluetooth. By using cadence sensor you can improve your cycling technique and identify your optimal cadence.

The cadence sensor measures your pedaling rate as revolutions per minute so you can compare the effectiveness of your ride against previous rides.

Speed sensor Bluetooth® Smart features

Speed

Measures your speed wirelessly and accurately and gives you current, average and maximum speed values.

You can see the speed in your training computer during your cycling session and in the Polar Flow app and web service afterwards.

Distance

Measures your distance wirelessly and accurately and gives you training and lap and total distance values.

You can see the distance in your training computer during your cycling session and in the Polar Flow app and web service afterwards.

Incline measurement

Tells you the uphill or downhill inclination in numerical form, helping you to adjust your effort accordingly. It shows you the uphill/downhill steepness in percentages and grades.

You can see the inclination on your training device during your session.

Stride sensor Bluetooth® Smart features

Cadence

Measures your running cadence by counting how many steps you take in a minute. The sensor measures your current, average and maximum cadence values. You can see your cadence on your wrist unit during your run and in the Polar Flow app and web service afterwards.

Cadence can be calculated as the total number of steps you take or as the number of steps one foot takes in a minute. In Polar products, cadence is calculated as the number of times one foot hits the ground. If you want to know the total number of steps you take in a minute, multiply the cadence value from your Polar device by two.

Distance

Measures distance for a training session and gives you lap, trip and total distance values.

You can see the distance in your training computer during your cycling session and in the Polar Flow app and web service afterwards.

Average stride length

You can see the average stride length in your training computer during your training session and in the Polar Flow app and web service afterwards.

Speed/Pace

Measures your speed/pace wirelessly and accurately and gives you current, average and maximum speed/pace values.

You can see the speed/pace in your training computer during your training session and in Flow app and web service afterwards.

Jump Test

Helps to assess leg muscular strength and power output and how tired your muscles are. There are three kinds of jump tests to choose from: squat, countermovement and continuous. This requires Stride sensor Bluetooth Smart.

The squat and countermovement tests measure your explosive strength, but in the countermovement jump test your muscles and tendons also do a pre-stretch that lets you use elastic energy, usually allowing you to jump higher.

The continuous jump test measures your anaerobic power. It is especially useful if you do sports that require anaerobic power, in other words maximal effort for short periods.

Device

Battery life

Training time: 13h

Measurement

Weight: 79g

Display

Resolution: 128X128

Water resistance

WR30

Rechargeable battery

USB cable

Custom

Display texts in languages

18

Bluetooth Smart + GymLink (5kHz)

Connects your Polar device and possible sensors to each other and enables you to sync your data via mobile. It is a standardized, wireless communication technology that is optimized for low power consumption and based on an open platform.

5kHz transmission works without pairing and is optimized to transmit heart rate data in water sports, like swimming, and also in certain gym environments.

Smart Notifications

Allows you to stay up to date when wearing your training computer in your everyday life. You will receive alerts from incoming calls, messages and push notifications from social media apps and see them on the display of your training computer.

During training you can see who’s calling and decide if you want to pick up or keep on enjoying your workout.

You can define which notifications you wish to receive in your phone’s settings or turn off notifications altogether from your training computer.

Audio alerts

Vibration alerts

Alarm

Button lock

Temperature

Temperature can be selected as one of the data fields on the training display. Shows temperature only during exercise.

Backlight

Date and weekday indicator

Time of day (12/24h)

Bike settings for three bicycles

Allows you to define settings in your training computer for up to three sensor-based bikes. When you start training, you can select the bike with the correct settings for that particular cycling session.

Firmware update

Allows you to update the software to the latest version with a USB.

Flow

Diary

Offers an easy way to follow your training, activity and progress in the Polar Flow web service. You can see your data in a daily, monthly or weekly view.

Running Index analysis

Season Planning

Map view

Gives you a map view of your training route in the Polar Flow web service when GPS used. On the map you can examine your training data in further detail.

Relive

Creates a video presenting your previous training routes and allows you to see the highlights of the session. The video is available in the Polar Flow web service and you can share it with your friends and contacts in the Polar Flow community.

Explore

Allows you to see and discover public training sessions that other users have shared by browsing the map in the Polar Flow web service.

Social feed

Be a part of the Polar training community and meet other Polar trainers there. You can share your own achieves, like training sessions or activity summaries or you can follow and comment other trainers´ training session or activity summary.

Instant activity and training analysis

Gives you an instant, visual summary of one training session or your activity in the Polar Flow app. You can follow your activity in daily, weekly or monthly view.

Advanced activity and training analysis

Allows you to easily analyze every detail of your training and long-term physical activity in the Flow web service. You can also get a deeper insight into your training analyses, for example compare your heart rate against speed, view detailed lap information or analyze your performance related to the route.

Besides the many details you get about your physical activity and all the health benefits that come with it, you can also get practical guidance how to reach your Activity Goal and see your inactive periods.

Training planning

Create detailed training targets in the Flow web service. You can save them to your training diary or as favorites for later use and sync them to your training computer.

You can set for example calorie, time or distance based targets or phased heart rate or speed/pace based targets. With your training targets you can ensure that you gain the desired training effect.

During training you can easily follow the guidance on your training computer and get notification with relevant information on the display with audio or vibration alert.

After your training session you can make a deeper analysis in the Polar Flow web service how you succeeded compared to your target

Sport profile settings

Allows you to choose the sport relevant for your training from over a hundred Polar sports with sport-specific reports. You can get the most valuable information for you from your chosen sport.

All sport profiles are based on certain logic and the most common (endurance) sports are enhanced with Polar-specific multipliers affecting calorie and training load calculation.

You can choose and adjust your own favorite sports and define specific settings for each one in Polar Flow. In more advanced training computers you can get tailored views during your training and choose what data you want to follow during training, for instance heart rate or just speed and distance.

Progress follow-up

Offers you a practical tool to follow your development with reports and graphs over longer periods. In Week, Month and Year reports you can choose the sport you want to include to the report. In Custom period you can choose both the period and the sport.

Data transfer

Compatibility

Compatible with PC Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 8, and later

Compatible with Mac OS X 10.6, OS X 10.7, OS X 10.8, and later

Compatible with Polar Flow web service

Compatible with Polar Flow mobile app via Bluetooth Smart

Data export

Allows you to manually export data of your training session to third party apps and services as TCX, GPX or CSV files. You can also zip the files for faster download.

E.g. you can export a specific route in GPX format or a training session including key training data like route, heart rate, calories and cadence in TCX format.

Training history export (from polarpersonaltrainer.com to Polar Flow)

You can transfer the training results and fitness test results from polarpersonaltrainer.com to Polar Flow with the following Polar products: RCX3, RCX5, RC3 GPS, CS500, CS500+, RS300X, RS800CX, CS600X, FT80, FT60, FT40 and FT7. It’s possible to transfer either a single training or fitness test result or up to 25 results at a time.

Log into Polar Flow with your polarpersonaltrainer.com username and password. The training and fitness test results are transferred from your polarpersonaltrainer.com account to the corresponding account in Polar Flow (the account with the same username and password). Note that you can’t choose the account you transfer the results to.

3rd party compatibility

Offers an easy way to connect your Polar training device with 3rd party services.

Your training and daily activity details are automatically sent and available to be used in the services where you allow it. Now you can be connected for example with Strava, TrainingPeaks, Apple Health Kit, Google Fit, MyFitnessPal and MapMyFitness,

Polar is actively developing new 3rd party compatible services and will update the information constantly.